The present invention relates to an internal envelope (liner) for a container.
In the goods transportation industry, in particular for bulk goods, use is commonly made of containers for transporting the most varied goods. This relates particularly to maritime transportation and the containers, notably the 20 foot ones, form part of the normal landscape of port areas.
According to the goods to be transported, it has been the usual custom, since the middle of the 1970s, to line the inside of the container with a liner so as to prevent the goods from being in contact with the internal wall of the container. These liners are in the form of large bags, in the shape overall of a right-angled parallelepiped, that is to say that of the container. These liners are provided with filling openings, emptying spouts and other devices intended to allow or facilitate the introduction and the emptying of the goods. In addition, these liners are made from synthetic fabric, polypropylene, polyethylene or other.
One problem encountered during the use of such bags is due to the face of the bag which corresponds to the door (in general with two leaves) of the container. This is because, during filling, this face naturally has a tendency to curve outwards, to bulge. As a result the door of the container cannot be closed or cannot be closed properly.
In order to attempt to eliminate this drawback, use has been made of metallic bars disposed, like a showjumping obstacle, across the door and bearing in the walls of the container. This solution is not satisfactory because of the excessive handling required and the problems of transportation, storage and standardisation of the bars.
Another proposal consists in equipping the liner with a number of straps anchored at different points on the liner and container, the retaining function being essentially exerted by straps placed inside the deployed volume of the liner; one example of this is given in the document EP 0528533. Here too the handling and fitting are not easy.
The purpose of the present invention is to propose an internal envelope for a container, that is to say a liner, which makes it possible to usefully neutralise the natural tendency towards bulging of the face of the liner corresponding to the door of the container, by means of the constructional characteristics of the liner, that is to say elements present from the time the liner is made, which require no handling or fitting when the liner is installed in the container, at the time of filling or emptying.
For this purpose, the invention relates to an internal envelope for a container, that is to say a liner, having six faces, one of which corresponds to the door of the container, and in which at least one strip of fabric is sewn onto only part of the inside of the face corresponding to the door and onto only part of the interior of the two adjacent vertical faces, the intermediate portions of the strip being free of stitching and forming recesses which leave partially free the vertical edges marking the join between the said adjacent faces and the said face corresponding to the door.
According to one embodiment, several parallel strips are applied.
The strip of fabric can be sewn so that it is horizontal. It can be produced with a tubular fabric.